John Dudley: Pirates' timing might have been perfect with Cole

The good news coming out of Gerrit Cole's Pirates debut wasn't limited to 6 1/3 solid innings and a win -- the first of hundreds for Cole, Bucs fans hope.

The former No. 1 overall pick was as good as advertised, allowing two runs on seven hits with a dazzling 99-mph fastball in an 8-2 victory over San Francisco.

But that wasn't all.

Cole ripped a two-run single against two-time Cy Young winner Tim Lincecum, leading more cynical Pirates fans to suggest he might already be the third- or fourth-best hitter on the club.

And his timing was impeccable.

General manager Neal Huntington's timing, to be more specific.

Somewhat obscured by the hype surrounding Cole's first start at PNC Park was the fact that it happened on June 11, which is of particular consequence in the larger scheme of baseball's economics.

You might recall that, during spring training, there was plenty of interest in whether Cole would break camp in the big-league rotation or return to Triple-A Indianapolis to start the year.

While the baseball people, including manager Clint Hurdle, would have gladly added Cole out of the chute, the accountants had different ideas.

Huntington, perhaps on his own, more likely with a nudge from owner Bob Nutting, decided Cole needed more seasoning and sent him down.

Although Huntington denied it at the time, the move smelled like money fueled the decision.

By opening the season in Pittsburgh, Cole would have been eligible for salary arbitration in 2015 and for free agency in 2018.

Keeping him down until mid-June likely bought the club another year in both of those scenarios. The exact date for players attaining Super Two status -- the 22 percent of players debuting this year with the most service time between two and three years who can go to arbitration -- hasn't been determined. But it's likely to be sometime in the first or second week of June.

Huntington rolled the dice in making the decision to keep Cole in the minors. Players tend to remember management decisions that cost them money, especially when they happen to be clients of Scott Boras.

It was also a gamble because the Pirates could have been stuck in last place by the time Cole finally forced his way to the majors, as he did this week. Introducing him to a losing clubhouse with, potentially, a lame-duck manager, might have seriously harshed Cole's California-bred mellow.

Instead, the Pirates have been a relentlessly scrappy, if not supremely talented club, that had scratched to a 39-26 start through Wednesday and has baseball people believing -- again -- that they might be a long-haul playoff contender.

Given the other possibilities, this could work out very well for everyone involved. If the 22-year-old Cole is as good as his upside, his minor league numbers (14-10, 2.84 ERA in 38 starts) and his fastball suggest, the Pirates rotation likely just experienced a significant upgrade this week.

And by the time Cole and Boras start to talk to the Pirates about arbitration and a huge, new contract, there could be enough shared good will -- and perhaps enough wins -- to make what looked like a cheapskate decision this spring feel like nothing more than a faded memory.